Oregon only state without constitutional provision for impeachment of governor

Salem, OR – Wednesday, Representative Jodi Hack (R-Salem) announced plans to increase state government oversight and accountability with a legislative proposal to amend Oregon’s constitution to allow for impeachment procedures of the executive branch.

“Oregonians deserve the highest levels of transparency, oversight and accountability from their elected officials,” said Rep. Hack. “As we move forward from this unfortunate moment in our state’s history, we need to ensure that we have a bipartisan formal mechanism in place to maintain the integrity of the Governor’s Office. This proposal allows Oregonians to directly participate in strengthening the state’s ethics and oversight laws.”

Oregon is currently the only state in the nation that does not provide a mechanism for executive impeachment. Rep. Hack’s proposal, tentatively titled LC 4006, would seek to amend the state constitution and create a formal process for removal of the governor. Rep. Hack’s proposal to install an impeachment process through a constitutional amendment would require a majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate before the bill can be referred to the general election ballot for voter approval. Oregon voters would then make the final decision as to whether or not to amend the state constitution to include an impeachment process.

Rep. Hack’s proposal is still being put into statutory language by Legislative Counsel. She will release additional details once the draft is finalized.